Tag: infrastructure

Now 55, he also brings a checkbook that permits him to finance his campaign at least through the earliest 2020 contests. I actually think the Democratic Party is pretty aligned on most things. Delaney: I think I’m the right person for the job and have the right vision for the country, but not enough people know who I am. Delaney: I don’t really think about it in those terms, in part because I’m a different kind of Democrat. Delaney: I don’t think things should or shouldn’t be.

Yet Delaney offers the brains and savvy that took him from a blue-collar upbringing to becoming the youngest CEO on the New York Stock Exchange in 1995. Now 55, he also brings a checkbook that permits him to finance his campaign at least through the earliest 2020 contests. He brands himself a practical problem-solver, capable of bringing both parties together to deliver on progressive goals such as universal health care and reductions in the carbon emissions that cause climate change.

Delaney sat down with CNBC Editor-at-Large John Harwood in Chevy Chase MD at Mei-Wah, an Asian restaurant near the offices of the finance firm for mid-sized businesses he ran before first running for Congress in 2012. What follows is a condensed, edited transcript of their conversation.

Harwood: What is that makes you a Democrat?

Delaney: I have a real social justice orientation. It probably comes from my roots and my faith. My wife and I are active Catholics. We identify very much with the social justice mission of the church and I think that has made me much more oriented to the Democratic Party.

I also am somewhat, even though I’m a capitalist and I’ve spent most of my career in the private sector as an entrepreneur starting businesses, I believe strongly that there’s a role for government to prepare our citizens for the world and to create a safety net for those that are inevitably left behind.

Harwood: You say you’re a capitalist. Do you get the feeling that the drift of your party is in a different direction, or not?

Delaney: Not necessarily. I actually think the Democratic Party is pretty aligned on most things. Just like any political party though, it’s big and there are people who align more with the Democratic socialist part of our party and while I share some of the goals that they’re trying to achieve like universal health care and making sure college is affordable and things like that, I happen to believe that private economy is an amazing innovation machine.

And has really been one of the things that have absolutely distinguished our country from other countries around the world. I think it’s somewhat of a false choice to have to choose between capitalism and supporting the private economy but also having government have a role in helping people’s lives. Harwood: There’s a whole bunch of people thinking about running for President on your side, but you’re the only one who’s actually declared and done it. Why?

Delaney: I think I’m the right person for the job and have the right vision for the country, but not enough people know who I am. That’s why I had to declare early. To make sure I could get out there and introduce myself to the key voters in Iowa and New Hampshire.

Harwood: How would you describe the shape of the field and your place in it?

Delaney: I don’t really think about it in those terms, in part because I’m a different kind of Democrat. If you look at the things I’ve worked on in the Congress, they’ve been progressive, they’ve been big ideas that I think will really change this country and make the future better, but I’ve consistently worked on finding common ground to get ’em done.

Harwood: Was that a deliberate evocation of Bill Clinton when you said a “different kind of Democrat”? That’s the phrase he used in 1991 when he was trying to redefine the Democrat party as somewhat more moderate.

Delaney: No, it’s not purposeful. I didn’t actually realize he had said that. People try to often label me and because I worked with the other side I was ranked as the third most bipartisan member of Congress and because of my business background they assume I’m a moderate and centrist. I am, to some extent, because I think the power in this country is really in the center.

Harwood: Do you want to be known as a pro-business Democrat?

Delaney: Listen, I’m a pro-jobs Democrat and if you want to be pro-jobs, you, to some extent, have to be pro-business. Because business creates all the jobs in this country. I think about this notion of capitalism and trying to make it more just and inclusive over time. I’m hugely supportive of the private economy, which makes me pro-business, but I actually want it to work for workers.

Harwood: Do you think the current level of regulation of Wall Street and American business is adequate?

Delaney: I think in some ways it is and in some ways it isn’t. I think our efforts to put protections on our natural world in a classic sense, have been good and appropriate. But have we done enough to deal with what’s happening to carbon and what’s going to lead to climate change? Absolutely not. Do I think we’ve done things to strengthen the financial system and make it so that we can withstand another significant downturn in the economy? Absolutely, the banks are much stronger than they were.

Harwood: What do you make of the big gyrations we’ve seen in financial markets over the last several weeks?

John Delaney: I don’t read too much into it. Markets go up and down because of how people think about the future, but also how they think about how things are priced. Right?

I look more at what’s happening to people. What’s happening to our citizens. I mean last year the Federal Reserve said that half of our country, if presented with a $500 surprise expense – meaning they wake up, something happens to their car, their house, or their health, their healthcare, and they need $500 – they don’t have the savings or they don’t have the capacity on their credit card. That, to me, is a much more worrisome statistic than what’s happened with the stock market.

Harwood: After 2020 when you hope to be president, what are the two or three most urgent things for Democrats to do?

Delaney: I think we should build infrastructure. I think we should raise the earned income tax credit, put more money in people’s pockets. I think we should fix our broken immigration and criminal justice systems.

Harwood: How do we pay for the first two things that you just mentioned?

Delaney: I had a proposal to build $1-trillion of infrastructure, fully paid for, 40 Democrats, 40 Republicans, Head of Freedom Caucus, Head of Progressive Caucus, and I paid it for it by tying it to international tax reform. Which they did in the last tax bill, but they didn’t pair it with infrastructure. How much better would that tax reform, if within it…

Harwood: That’s water under the bridge.

Delaney: But you can re-reform it, and pay for infrastructure. So instead of cutting corporate tax rates from 35% to 21%, if you cut it to 25%, which is what the business community asked for, you could’ve had a $1-trillion infrastructure plan.

Harwood: So you’d like to take that corporate tax rate up a few points.

Delaney: As part of launching a trillion dollar infrastructure program? Absolutely. I’d like more earned income tax credit. What I’d like to do is reform the capital gain system; I think capital gains and ordinary income rates should be the same unless you own the asset for a very long time. So I’d like to create incentives for people to own assets for seven or 10 years, because that means they’ll invest in start-ups, they’ll invest in infrastructure, the kind of stuff we need that has a much longer payback.

Harwood: What should the top personal rate be?

Delaney: Where it was before this last tax bill was what?

Harwood: 39.6%.

Delaney: Yeah, that was fine.

Harwood: Where does strengthening the ability of workers to organize, and what workers can do once they are organized, fit into your agenda?

Delaney: I’m pro-union. I think unions are the only people who wake up every day and actually fight for workers. They just don’t fight for the workers in the unions, they fight for all workers. So I want to create a dynamic where it’s a level playing field and unions have the right to organize. But I also realize a lot of the economy is not unionized right now.

Harwood: Should it be?

Delaney: I don’t think things should or shouldn’t be. I think people should have the right to organize, and if it’s make sense for them and the company, they should do it. But neither of my businesses were unionized.

Harwood: You’ve been at this a year and a half. You got a very nice column from George Will about your candidacy, but you’re at 1%. What conclusions do you draw right now about the viability of this enterprise? You know that people are going to watch this and say, ‘Come on, he doesn’t have a chance.’

Delaney: We have a great chance. I’ve been to all 99 counties. We’ve got 25 people on the ground in Iowa. I’ve got six offices open. I’ve got about 40 people on the team. We’re going to run a major campaign in 2019. I’m going to be all over Iowa and New Hampshire.

Harwood: You’re self-financing?

Delaney: I have the ability to finance my campaign through Iowa and New Hampshire.

Harwood: Is the only measure of the success of what you’re doing now if you become President?

Delaney: So when my wife and I decided to do this, which is a leap of faith by definition…

Harwood: Absolutely.

John Delaney: …right, where you have to say, are we doing it for the right reasons? Do we think we have something to say? Do we see a path to viability? And the answers to all of those questions were yes. And as long as I stay true to what I believe, which is this message of unity, common purpose and actually looking at the facts, being honest with the American people about our problems, being honest about the solutions and bringing people together to get those things done – as long as I stay true to that, there’s no way this could be a bad experience.”

Pelosi has cast the early House Democratic agenda not as one of resistance to Trump, but rather as a push for common sense, noncontroversial solutions. At a news conference Thursday, a reporter asked Pelosi what “repercussions” Trump should face after federal prosecutors implicated him in campaign finance crimes committed by his former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen. She briefly noted that the allegations came from the Justice Department and not special counsel Robert Mueller, whom Trump has sla

But she has tried not to appear too extreme ahead of a 2020 election in which Democrats will aim to keep the House and reclaim the White House. Pelosi has cast the early House Democratic agenda not as one of resistance to Trump, but rather as a push for common sense, noncontroversial solutions.

At a news conference Thursday, a reporter asked Pelosi what “repercussions” Trump should face after federal prosecutors implicated him in campaign finance crimes committed by his former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen. She briefly noted that the allegations came from the Justice Department and not special counsel Robert Mueller, whom Trump has slammed. But Pelosi did not take the bait on impeachment or any other possible backlash for the president.

“From our standpoint, what we’re interested in is meeting the needs of America’s working families,” she said. “To spend our time lowering health-care costs by reducing the cost of prescription drugs, increasing paychecks by building infrastructure of America. Both of those things are things that the president said he wanted to do during the campaign. So this is common ground.”

Even before drug costs and infrastructure, Democrats want to move quickly on their bill designed to stamp out corruption and money in politics, Pelosi said. Americans broadly support limiting money in politics. She stressed that the party would push for proposals “starting with those that are the most unifying and have the broadest support in the public.”

Of course, not every House Democratic initiative will come without controversy. The House Ways and Means Committee will likely “take the first steps” to acquire Trump’s tax returns — an effort the president will surely fight. Pelosi said Thursday that she sees “popular demand” for Congress to seek the documents.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the magnitude of the earthquake was 7.0, after initially giving a preliminary magnitude of 6.7. No tsunami danger exists for the U.S. west coast, British Columbia and Alaska, according to the US National Tsunami Warning Center. The center had initially issued a tsunami warning for coastal zones of southern Alaska. Michael Burgy, a senior technician with the National Tsunami Warning Center in Palmer, Alaska, said the tsunami warning was automatically generated base

A large earthquake has rocked buildings in Anchorage and caused lamp posts and trees to sway, prompting people to run out of offices and seek shelter under office desks.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the magnitude of the earthquake was 7.0, after initially giving a preliminary magnitude of 6.7.

Gov. Bill Walker issued a disaster declaration in the aftermath.

No tsunami danger exists for the U.S. west coast, British Columbia and Alaska, according to the US National Tsunami Warning Center. The center had initially issued a tsunami warning for coastal zones of southern Alaska.

Michael Burgy, a senior technician with the National Tsunami Warning Center in Palmer, Alaska, said the tsunami warning was automatically generated based on the quake’s size and proximity to shore. Scientists monitored gauges to see if the quake generated big waves. Because there were none, they canceled the warning.

USGS says the earthquake Friday morning was centered about 7 miles (12 kilometers) north of Alaska’s largest city, with a population of about 300,000. There were no immediate reports of any deaths or serious injuries.

People went back inside buildings after the earthquake but a smaller 5.8 magnitude aftershock a short time later sent them running back into the streets again.

Cracks could be seen in a two-story downtown Anchorage building, and photographs posted to social media showed fractured roads and collapsed ceiling tiles at an Anchorage high school. One image showed a car stranded on an island of pavement, surrounded by cavernous cracks where the earthquake split the road.

Cereal boxes and packages of batteries littered the floor of a grocery store, and picture frames and mirrors were knocked from living room walls.

Two years since Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte began warming up to China in exchange for promised investments, Manila is still waiting for the financing. In 2016, Duterte secured $24 billion in investment, credit and loan pledges from Chinese President Xi Jinping’s government to upgrade his country’s infrastructure. In the meantime, Duterte has been “soft peddling on the South China Sea disputes and towing the Chinese line,” he said. China and the Philippines have contesting territorial cl

Two years since Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte began warming up to China in exchange for promised investments, Manila is still waiting for the financing.

In 2016, Duterte secured $24 billion in investment, credit and loan pledges from Chinese President Xi Jinping’s government to upgrade his country’s infrastructure. But Xi’s government has yet to deliver.

To date, Beijing has promised Manila 10 big-ticket infrastructure projects but only one has moved toward implementation, political scientist Richard Heydarian told CNBC. In the meantime, Duterte has been “soft peddling on the South China Sea disputes and towing the Chinese line,” he said.

China and the Philippines have contesting territorial claims in the South China Sea, an international waterway that Beijing largely claims as its own despite nearly unanimous diplomatic opinion to the contrary.

Former Philippine President Benigno Aquino launched a formal case against China over the matter and in 2016, the Hague tribunal ruled in favor of Manila, invalidating Beijing’s claims. Chinese officials, however, dismissed that ruling. Critics say Duterte has not done enough to demand China’s compliance on the issue.

A few months after the court’s decision, the Philippine leader made a dramatic about-turn on foreign policy in declaring a separation from Manila’s historic ally, the United States — choosing instead to align with Beijing. Duterte’s alliance with the Communist country has angered many Filipinos who accuse him of making geopolitical concessions in the South China Sea for Chinese capital that has yet to materialize.

The House passed three separate bills earlier this year as part of a second wave of tax reform. The most notable proposal made individual tax reductions passed last year permanent. Meanwhile, key members of both parties, including President Donald Trump and House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, have expressed a desire to pass a plan to revamp U.S. infrastructure. “That’s going to be the real hang-up when it comes to infrastructure — how do we pay for it?” During his “Squawk Box” appearance, McCa

The House passed three separate bills earlier this year as part of a second wave of tax reform. The most notable proposal made individual tax reductions passed last year permanent. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said he will take the bills if he sees support for them. The GOP will hold at least 51 seats, and likely more, in the Senate in January.

Meanwhile, key members of both parties, including President Donald Trump and House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, have expressed a desire to pass a plan to revamp U.S. infrastructure. However, they will have a tough time agreeing on how to pay for the overhauls. Democrats will likely push for more public funding than Republicans want. McConnell said Wednesday that there’s no interest in his caucus for an expensive infrastructure plan.

McCarthy also expressed concerns Thursday about striking a deal on funding an infrastructure proposal.

“That’s going to be the real hang-up when it comes to infrastructure — how do we pay for it?” he asked.

During his “Squawk Box” appearance, McCarthy also repeatedly and falsely contended that Democrats will only focus on investigating Trump, securing his tax returns and attempting impeachment. While Democrats have called for investigations into various parts of the Trump administration, the vast majority of them have avoided any talk of impeachment.

They also ran on proposals including shoring up the Affordable Care Act, lowering prescription drug prices, strengthening gun background checks and reducing corruption in government. Pelosi — the front-runner to become the next speaker of the House despite some opposition within her party — has called those policies her priority in January.

The strong U.S. economy’s continued success depends largely on infrastructure, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said Tuesday. “I think a lot will have to do with whether infrastructure gets the kind of treatment that it really deserves.” The administration’s “Infrastructure Week” theme also became the butt of jokes. He said Tuesday that he would serve as long as the president wants, and that he’s seen no indication that his time is short. Last week, CNBC reported, citing sources close to the presi

The strong U.S. economy’s continued success depends largely on infrastructure, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said Tuesday.

“Corporate earnings certainly have been very, very strong. there’s no question about that. And it’s also no question that market’s job is to look ahead,” Ross said. “I think a lot will have to do with whether infrastructure gets the kind of treatment that it really deserves.”

Ross, speaking at the Yahoo Finance All Markets Summit in Washington, was asked whether the prospect of diminished corporate earnings in the near future will be a drag on the economy. He added that the only real obstacle to passing an infrastructure bill is its funding.

“As you know, [the] president is very keen to have an infrastructure program, and the only real issue is how do you pay for it. How much does the federal government do, how much is done by [the] private sector,” Ross said.

The concept of an executive-level infrastructure push has itself become a bit of a laughing matter to critics. In February, President Donald Trump proposed spending $200 billion in a bid to coax $1.5 trillion in infrastructure investing mainly from state and local governments, as well as private entities, but the plan went nowhere.

The administration’s “Infrastructure Week” theme also became the butt of jokes.

Yet Democratic leaders, such as potential next House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Trump have suggested there could be common ground on a potential infrastructure package. The political calculus is tricky, however, for both parties. Neither side wants to give the other a win heading in to the 2020 presidential election year, and hyperpartisans in either party may well resist passing any compromise legislation.

The Cabinet secretary’s remarks came amid an ongoing trial over the inclusion of a question on the 2020 Census asking about the respondent’s citizenship. Critics — including New York state, which is suing the Commerce Department — say the question could limit participation among immigrant communities, leading to their under-representation on official government statistics.

Ross has said that he recalled discussing the question withTrump’s former advisor Steve Bannon, The New York Times reported in October.

Ross also addressed chatter that he might be on his way out of the Trump administration. He said Tuesday that he would serve as long as the president wants, and that he’s seen no indication that his time is short.

Last week, CNBC reported, citing sources close to the president, that Trump has been telling people he wants to replace Ross as Commerce secretary by the end of the year.

PresidentDonald Trump’s administration is looking at a multifaceted infrastructure plan, according to top White House economic advisor Larry Kudlow on Tuesday. “We are looking at infrastructure in many different ways,” Kudlow said on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street.” “I’d like to do anything that will help LNG, terminals, shipping. There are early signs that European leaders would be willing to support the building of liquefied natural gas, or LNG, import terminals. The U.S. is also urging Europe t

PresidentDonald Trump’s administration is looking at a multifaceted infrastructure plan, according to top White House economic advisor Larry Kudlow on Tuesday.

“We are looking at infrastructure in many different ways,” Kudlow said on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street.”

“I’d like to do energy infrastructure. I’d like to do pipeline,” Kudlow said. “I’d like to do anything that will help LNG, terminals, shipping. We’d like to revise the U.S. shipping industry, which has been dormant for many years. We’d like to export oil, natural gas to Europe and to Asia.”

There are early signs that European leaders would be willing to support the building of liquefied natural gas, or LNG, import terminals. New terminals could lead to an increase of American LNG exported to the continent. Trump met with European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker in July, and boosting natural gas trade was one of the top issues.

“They want LNG, they want it badly, and we’re going to do everything we can to accommodate them,” Kudlow said.

As the U.S. continues trade talks with Europe, the Trump administration has continued to push its European allies to import more LNG. The U.S. is also urging Europe to reduce its reliance on Russian state-controlled companies for natural gas transported by pipeline. Russia dominates Europe’s supply of natural gas. But the U.S. is making some early inroads into the European market, as the German government offered support to build an LNG terminal in northern Germany.

Trump has made infrastructure a priority in domestic politics as well. A day after the 2018 midterm elections, Trump said he hopes to work with congressional Democrats on infrastructure. Members of both the Republican and Democratic parties have called for improvements to the country’s aging bridges, roads and airports.

Investors should buy materials companies like Nucor and Vulcan Materials if U.S. lawmakers move forward with any infrastructure plans, according to Jefferies. Sean Darby, the bank’s chief global equity strategist, wrote his note after the U.S. midterm elections, which ended with Republicans keeping control of the Senate and Democrats gaining a majority in the House. “Public spending on infrastructure (transportation and water) as a share of GDP is near all-time lows (2.3%). The S&P 500 materials

Investors should buy materials companies like Nucor and Vulcan Materials if U.S. lawmakers move forward with any infrastructure plans, according to Jefferies.

Sean Darby, the bank’s chief global equity strategist, wrote his note after the U.S. midterm elections, which ended with Republicans keeping control of the Senate and Democrats gaining a majority in the House. This government setup makes it harder for the government to move significantly forward on a number of issues. However, leaders from both parties have signaled they are willing to work together on infrastructure, opening the door for a bipartisan bill to move forward in Washington.

“This is a logical time to address the many US infrastructure deficiencies that have become an impediment to a variety of economic activities in the US, most notably transportation,” Darby, the bank’s chief global equity strategist, wrote on Monday. “Public spending on infrastructure (transportation and water) as a share of GDP is near all-time lows (2.3%). Higher infrastructure spending would help US competitiveness and the associated jobs created would also help the economy.”

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said last week he and Democratic House Rep. Nancy Pelosi talked about bipartisan cooperation on infrastructure. On Tuesday, White House economic advisor Larry Kudlow said the Trump administration is looking into a multifaceted infrastructure plan that would improve the U.S. shipping industry and energy pipelines.

The S&P 500 materials sector, which includes Nucor and Vulcan Materials, traded more than 0.6 percent higher following Kudlow’s comments. The industrials sector, which is also made up of several infrastructure-related companies, rose 1 percent on Tuesday.

Darby included Nucor and Vulcan in Jefferies’ “Shifting Sands” basket, which tracks infrastructure stocks. The basket also includes Reliance Steel, United Rentals and Commercial Metals, among others. These stocks have underperformed the broader market in 2018. All of them except for Nucor are down for the year, while the S&P 500 is up 2.3 percent.

Australia remains open to Chinese investments regardless of whether Canberra blocks an acquisition of a major energy company by a Hong Kong-led consortium, Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenberg told CNBC on Friday. Earlier this year, a consortium led by Hong Kong property developer CK Infrastructure — owned by billionaire Li Ka-shing — offered a $9.4 billion takeover bid for APA Group, Australia’s leading energy infrastructure business. The deal would be “contrary to the national interest,” Fryde

Australia remains open to Chinese investments regardless of whether Canberra blocks an acquisition of a major energy company by a Hong Kong-led consortium, Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenberg told CNBC on Friday.

The deal would be “contrary to the national interest,” Frydenberg said in a statement released Wednesday. Speaking to CNBC on Friday, Frydenberg said his preliminary view was “not about a particular company or country.”

The judgement call was based on “what the implications would be for Australia were we to see a concentration of foreign ownership by a sole company in such a key set of assets as is the gas transmission sector,” Frydenberg stated.

“APA is a unique company, with more than 50 percent of the gas transmission business in Australia, more than 15,000 pipelines supplying gas and electricity into key markets,” he added.

The company holds approximately $20 billion of energy assets and delivers half the nation’s natural gas usage, according to the company.

Newly energized Democrats are ready to pass a “pretty big, bold bill” and help pay for it by raising the federal gasoline tax for the first time in 25 years, LaHood said. The federal gas tax has been 18.4 cents, 24.4 cents for diesel, since it was last raised in 1993. “If you raise the gas tax 10 cents a gallon, you get billions of dollars. Back in February, there were reports that Trump was signaling a willingness to consider a federal gas tax hike to bolster the cash-strapped Highway Trust Fun

In a postelection news conference Wednesday, the president said he and Democrats “have a lot of things in common on infrastructure.” Ever since launching his White House bid, the real estate billionaire had lambasted what he’s categorized as “horrible infrastructure problems” throughout the United States.

Newly energized Democrats are ready to pass a “pretty big, bold bill” and help pay for it by raising the federal gasoline tax for the first time in 25 years, LaHood said. The federal gas tax has been 18.4 cents, 24.4 cents for diesel, since it was last raised in 1993.

“If you raise the gas tax 10 cents a gallon, you get billions of dollars. That’s a very, very good start,” said LaHood, currently co-chairman of the Building America’s Future coalition, which pushes for a new era in infrastructure investment. “It sends a message to the states that the federal government is serious about getting back into being a good partner.”

Back in February, there were reports that Trump was signaling a willingness to consider a federal gas tax hike to bolster the cash-strapped Highway Trust Fund. The president’s possible flexibility on the matter came shortly after the White House unveiled its long-promised infrastructure plan, which eventually went nowhere.

The administration at the time proposed a $1.5 trillion plan to fix the nation’s aging infrastructure by putting up $200 billion in federal funding over 10 years. The proposal capped federal funding at 20 percent for any given project, leaving cities and states responsible for raising the rest.

“That’s not going to work,” LaHood said. “Why not replenish the Highway Trust Fund? Raise the gas tax, and go back to back to the formula of 80-20 because the states have no money.”